Compared: 2023 Cadillac XT4 vs. 2023 Lincoln Corsair

Two distinct takes on entry-level SUV luxury from American archrival brands reveal some surprising differences.

Jim Koscs | 

May 2, 2024 | 3 min read

Cadillac | Lincoln

Buyers looking for a small luxury SUV with a bit of American design swagger will find it in the 2023 versions of the Cadillac XT4 and Lincoln Corsair. Straddling the subcompact and compact crossover SUV segments, the XT4 arrived for the 2019 model year, while the compact Corsair was new in 2020. The Lincoln gets some styling tweaks, new interior upgrades, and new safety tech for 2023.

Both two-row, five-seat vehicles seem close in basic size and specification, though each offers advantages.

Cadillac

The Lincoln Is More Expensive Than the Cadillac

The front-wheel-drive (FWD) 2023 Cadillac XT4 Luxury starts around $37,000. The mid-level Premium Luxury trim is $41,000, and the top Sport trim starts at $42,000. All-wheel drive (AWD) is a $2,500 upgrade. With most packages and options, an XT4 Sport AWD can reach about $57,000.

The 2023 Lincoln Corsair also offers a trio of trim levels. The FWD Standard trim starts at $40,000, and the mid-range Reserve is about $44,000. Traction at all four wheels adds $2,300 for either.

It's in the top-tier trim where the Lincoln differs most from the Cadillac. The Corsair Grand Touring is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with AWD, starting at around $55,000. Fully optioned, the Corsair Grand Touring is about $67,000, while a fully loaded Corsair Reserve would be about $62,000.

Lincoln

The XT4 Has More Rear-Seat Legroom Than the Corsair

Both vehicles provide plenty of features in their standard versions, including power-adjustable front seats, a power tailgate, dual-zone automatic climate control, and automatic emergency braking.

The XT4 beats the Corsair for rear-seat legroom — 39.5 inches versus 38.6 inches, or 36.7 inches in the Corsair Grand Touring. However, the Corsair offers more cargo room with the rear seats lowered — 57.6 cubic-feet (56.2 cu-ft in Corsair Grand Touring) versus 48.9. The Corsair's top-spec seems more luxurious than the XT4's, with features such as a 14-speaker Revel Audio system, 24-way power-adjustable front seats with heat, plus ventilation and massage.

Cadillac

The Lincoln Corsair Is Cheaper to Run Than the Cadillac XT4

All Cadillac XT4 trims use a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 235 horsepower with a nine-speed automatic transmission. The FWD versions earn EPA fuel economy estimates of 23/30/26 mpg city/highway/combined. Adding AWD drops efficiency to 22/29/24 mpg.

The Lincoln Corsair gas models also use a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, rated at 250 horsepower, with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The FWD Corsairs return 22/30/25 mpg, with AWD trims at 21/28/24 mpg.

Lincoln

The Corsair Grand Touring plug-in hybrid has 266 horsepower and returns an estimated 33 mpg combined in hybrid mode. In battery-only EV mode, it can drive up to 27 miles while getting 78 MPGe.

Though the hybrid is an obvious winner on fuel economy, even the standard gas-only Corsair should give an edge in driving cost, as Lincoln specifies regular-grade gasoline while the Cadillac calls for pricier premium fuel.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Jim Koscs

Jim Koscs has been writing about cars for more than 30 years, his byline appearing in national enthusiast and trade publications, newspapers, and websites. He covers a broad spectrum of topics in automotive business, culture, collecting, design, history, racing, and technology. The "car thing" goes way back for Jim. At the 1968 New York Auto Show, he snuck away from his father to get a better look at a Rolls-Royce... from underneath it, to see if it had dual exhausts. (It didn't.)